After several months and preview releases, Microsoft has finally lifted the curtain for the Windows Explorer 9 beta release. Internet Explorer 9 is Microsoft's attempt at not just catching up to the competition, but at actually surpassing them. Since enough sites will be focusing on just how many nanoseconds faster or slower the beta is compared to the competition, I'll talk a little about the new minimalist interface.

If I can use IE 9, and forget that I'm using IE 9. Then its succesful.

It shouldn't be dramatically slower, dramatically different in its rendering of web pages, or dramatically different in its UI.

I know in the 90's it was job #1 for Microsoft to ensure that browsers would not be compatible with each other, to keep people writing win32 on windows. I think we can safely say they only managed to prevent the inevitable. I see IE 9 as evidence that they've acknowledged and even embraced defeat, which is a very good thing.

I don't really use windows much these days, but when I do, IE is just painful.